Arts and Crafts

Since we are getting tied into all of the holy grails of Internet gun arguments this month, I thought to myself, “Why not complete the circle and get people riled up about another one?”

Yep, reloading. I periodically hear from people who proclaim that reloading is the answer to whatever ammo discussion we are having, and I have even thought about doing it myself, but I just don’t see a reason to do it. I have blogged about reloading at least 4 or 5 times, but it’s been awhile, so let’s rehash it

There are a number of reasons given for getting into reloading ammo.

Cost Savings

I examined that back in 2020. To begin reloading, I would need to get the equipment, so right there you are looking at $400 for a progressive press set, and another $300 or so for tools and accoutrements. Then there is the ongoing cost of supplies:

Item	Average Cost, $
Small Primers	70/1000
Large Primers	140/1000
Gunpowder	50/lb
Brass	60/1000
9mm Bullets	200/1000
.45 Bullets	400/1000

• all supplies sourced from Midway Shooters’ Supply
• Brass sourced from US reloading supply
• Also note that 10mm & 308 brass are out of stock

9mm were the cheapest bullets I looked at, .45 were the most expensive (even more than rifle), so I used those two calibers to give us a good range of costs. So even assuming that we can get the supplies, it costs an average of $620 for 1000 rounds of ammo to be reloaded, plus the cost of the press and equipment, which would be amortized across the ammo you reload with it. It also takes about 2 hours to load 1000 rounds of pistol ammo. More for rifle.

Buying quality stuff, I can buy ammo right now for:

Caliber	cost $/1000 rounds
62gr, .223 Green Tip	570
150gr, .308	880
9mm FMJ	200
9mm JHP	330
.45ACP	320
10mm	1250

Except for 10mm and .308, it costs more to reload the calibers I have than it does to simply buy it, and that doesn’t even include what my time is worth.

Shortages of Supplies

Yeah, I get that you can load ammo when it is unavailable commercially, but it’s also true that there can be shortages of primers, bullets, and other reloading supplies. I think this is a wash.

Risk

Reloading carries a risk. A person loading in their garage is more likely to make an error than commercial reloading. While it is a small risk, it can’t be ignored. If you are running a 4 Sigma reloading operation, then there is a .006% chance that a round will be improperly loaded. That seems pretty good until you realize that one round in every 17,000 will cause a problem. This doesn’t happen in commercially loaded ammunition because they use lasers and precision scales to make sure that defects are rejected before they are sent out.

Conclusion

That leads us to the end. The first thing we see from this post is that there are not many things that we haven’t already looked at in the nearly 7,000 posts and 18 years that this blog has been around.

With that being said, reloading remains a poor choice, at least for me. You may feel differently with regards to your own situation. If you like to sit at the reloading bench, then this may be a good way to spend a Saturday. Some people like to tie flies, some like to load ammo. To each their own.

In comments, Hank asks:

As a newbie with a number of pieces including a stock M&P 9 Shield 2.0, curious about your Apex preference. Can you go into some depth about the reasoning for that choice one day? What might the CCW neophyte gain by the switch? Thanks!

That’s a great question. I own a few different brands of handguns, but the one I own more of than any other is Smith and Wesson. Beginning with my very first handgun (you never forget your first), a model 59, I have bought dozens of handguns from this manufacturer. I had a few examples of the third generation S&Ws. I stopped buying them for awhile when the company went rogue, then returned to the brand when the began producing the M&P line. The M&P autoloading pistols are, in my opinion, the best that Smith and Wesson has ever made.

But they aren’t perfect. For that reason, there are modifications that I make to every handgun of any brand.

The first thing that I have done to every handgun I have ever purchased is put better sights on it. I have tried a fair few: XS DXT sights, with their large front post allow for a quick sight picture at the expense of a little accuracy, or even the TFO night sights from TruGlo, which have fiber optic for daytime use and Tritium for night time, and the latest, microdot sights.

My favorite microdot sight is currently the Holosun 507k in green. I like the green because I find that I get faster acquisition with it. I have been putting microdots on my handguns since 2019, when I bought a Performance Center Shield Plus because I foolishly thought that I would be able to volunteer for Florida’s Guardian program.

The next modification (going back to at least 2012) that I make is particular to Smith and Wesson M&Ps: an Apex Action Enhancement Kit. This doesn’t apply to the Performance Center, nor to the Shield Plus. I find both of those examples have a decent trigger. Don’t get me wrong, the M&P 2.0 has a much better trigger than the 1.0, but it still needs work. The M&P triggers are by no means the worst triggers I have ever felt. That distinction goes to the Taurus Millennium, because it feels like the trigger is dragging an iron plate across a gravel parking lot. Still, I don’t really like the M&P trigger, as it feels sloppy and gritty at the same time. It just isn’t smooth enough for me.

The Forward Set Trigger kit that I put in this pistol is nice. It comes with springs, trigger, sear, and other parts that allow you to smooth out the trigger pull and set your pull weight. I currently have my pull weight on the 10mm set at about 4 pounds. The new trigger also has a nice, smooth feel with a crisp break.

Installing it is a breeze- just follow the company’s instructional YouTube video, and as long as you have a proper set of tools, it’s a breeze. Essential is a good set of punches, a pistol armorer’s block, a sight pusher tool, and a good set of quality screwdrivers, you can do all of this yourself.

So that is what I generally do to make my handguns feel right for me. Don’t get me wrong, most of the handguns I have owned are perfectly fine right out of the box, but through trial and error, I have found what works for me. You may have a different experience.

The disclaimer: I don’t advertise, and receive nothing for my reviews or articles. I don’t think that I ever will. I have no relationship with any products, companies, or vendors that I review here, other than being a customer. If I ever *DO* have a financial interest, I will disclose it. Otherwise, I pay what you would pay. No discounts or other incentives here. I only post these things because I think that my readers would be interested.

A Federal judge has ruled against the Bureau of All Things Fun and Exciting (BATFE) when they banned Forced Reset Triggers.

O’Connor cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling striking down a ban on bump stocks, another device that allows a gun to be fired at a speed similar to a machine gun. The court found that the legal definition of a machine gun requires the gun to fire continuously while the trigger is held, which neither bump stocks nor forced reset triggers do…[The Mass shooting in Las Vegas was terrible] “But no matter how terrible the circumstances, there is never a situation that justifies a court altering statutory text that was democratically enacted by those who are politically accountable,” he wrote. “That responsibility belongs exclusively to Congress.”

With that being said, I wonder if the window isn’t open for the manufacture of things like the Super Safety, the plans for which can be found on this very website.

Here are pictures from someone who went and made one of the conversion kits for an AR. It is a 3D printed, drop in kit that converts a semiautomatic AR into select fire.

To the ATF: These are not my photos, they have never been in my physical presence, and I don’t even own a dog. I don’t have any weapons that you would consider illegal. I am publishing this strictly for educational purposes. I am advising people to never make one of these, because they are illegal and we are law abiding citizens.

Speaking of DIY, here is a great example of hacking the AR into select fire. As precision machining, 3D printing, and 3D metal printing becomes increasingly miniaturized and cost effective, the debate about gun control becomes more and more useless.

SFFA V2 (Select Fire Full Auto) new housing style that should make printing times alot faster + no supports needed. You can download it now here https://t.co/XtjV6PXakb pic.twitter.com/0nPOGHZEmn

— s3igu2 (@s3igu2) January 23, 2024

You can’t put the 3D printing genie back in the bottle.

Thanks to everyone that posted comments to my request for proposed ideas for my next rifle project. I want to take a minute and point out that this is for a build project. Thanks for some of your thoughts on buying M1As, SCARs, or LaRue rifles, but I am not looking for suggestions on BUYING a factory made rifle.

I am building one using what was an 80 percent lower*. I have a number of lowers that have been machined already, and are thus already legally owned firearms. They are waiting to be outfitted with parts and accessories. Building rifles has become a bit of a hobby in itself. Here are the posts on my last build:

• The concept of a skirmish rifle is born, new upper for a DPMS
• DPMS lower/built upper goes to the range
• It morphs into a complete rifle build
• Dealing with faulty machine work
• The completed project

This will result in an off paper, one of a kind rifle that I built myself. Since this is a build on an AR10 receiver, I am looking at a Faxon barrel and a good scope. Trying to play with some other pieces/parts to get a 2 MOA rifle. The last build is hitting 4 MOA with factory ammo. Maybe I can get 2 MOA with the one I have, if I get some better ammo. My direct supervisor at work is a precision shooter that builds his own rifles and handloads. He is hitting 4 inch groups at 700 yards and has said he will give me some of his hand rolled .308 to try out. That should tell me if it’s an ammo issue.

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*Note to the fellas at the ATF: This was an 80 percent lower that was purchased and machined prior to you changing the law. As of the date that you passed the ban on homemade lowers, this was already legally a firearm, according to your own definitions. Since ex post facto laws can’t be made and they were legal to create at the time, I am within the law.

So don’t even think about killing my dog, my son, or shooting my wife in the face. Likewise, please don’t come and set fire to my house with everyone inside.